


PRETTY LITTLE

by yugen614



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: But he won't admit it, Byun Baekhyun is Bad at Feelings, Byun Baekhyun surprisingly has his act together, ChanBaek - Freeform, M/M, Park Chanyeol Is Bad At Feelings, Park Chanyeol is Whipped, Sebaek friendship ftw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:53:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22690537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yugen614/pseuds/yugen614
Summary: Chanyeol keeps bullying his stepbrother Sehun while there's his bestfriend Baekhyun, always to the rescue. This provokes and angers Chanyeol even worse."I see how you look at my bestfriend." Sehun says one time as they got to another one of their endless fights. "Pity that he only thinks of you as a sad, angry bully. If I were you, I'd treat me good."
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 13
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

Baekhyun strolled around the campus, secretly enjoying the end of his classes for the week. As for his plans tomorrow: he would stay in his apartment all day, wear his most comfortable pajamas, watch Netflix—or sleep. He could not wait. The serenity did not stay long though, as he heard a sound of someone getting punched. The area was familiar to him, of course, and unfortunately this brought him dread. As if something would happen, because this was not the first time he faced this…situation. Heading towards the area at the back of the building he saw his best friend, about to be attacked by two guys.

“Hey!” he shouted, immediately running towards Sehun whose eyes widened in fear. Not for himself. But for his best friend Baekhyun. Despite him being shorter than Sehun, Baek got in front of him. His last attempt at protecting him. “What the hell, Baek? You shouldn’t have gone here!”

“Just had an inkling that you’re in trouble again,” he nonchalantly shrugged, as if there were no two big guys in front of them, preparing to attack. He knew these guys by their faces. “’The hell do you want?”

“It’s none of your business, Byun. Get out of here!”

“Hah! I will.” He grabbed Sehun’s arm. “But I will take him with me.”

The guy tried to stop him by grabbing his arm. “Not so fast, pretty.”

“Do. Not. Touch. Me.” He said, trying to calm himself. If there’s anything he hated the most, it’s to be touched by strangers. The guy just tightened his hold on him it would probably bruise later. He saw the other guy go towards Sehun and grab him. He saw red. With his right leg he quickly struck the guy at the back of his knees, immediately taking him down. _Hapkido,_ baby.

He immediately went by the guy’s back and grabbed his arm behind to prevent him to move further.

“Stop.” A deep voice spoke. Of course. It had to be Park Chanyeol behind all this.

“Why don’t you ask your goons to stop bullying Sehun instead, Park?” He loosened his hold on the guy.

“Still feisty, Byun?”

He didn’t answer. He immediately went to Sehun who was tightly grabbing his pained stomach. “’You okay?” He nodded. “Let’s go.”

Before they could completely move past where Park Chanyeol was standing, the tall guy grabbed his arm. “Seriously? What’s with all the grabbing? ‘Those the lame moves you taught your goons, Park?”

He did not answer. He kept on eyeing his now-bruised arm with a knotted forehead.

“I’m serious, Park. Stop with all these. He’s your stepbrother, for God’s sake.” He said and followed Sehun who was waiting for him few steps away.

***

“Ah, I don’t want to go home.” Sehun complained. They were at his apartment. A cold can of beer was on his stomach, while he chugged the other opened can. Almost empty paper boxes of their delivery food were scattered on the floor. It was almost midnight. “Can I stay here?”

“Nope. Deal with your shit with Park, okay?” As much as he would like to have him stay for the weekend, he would like to have his peace and regain his energy for the coming week by being alone.

“You’re so cruel.”

Silence filled the apartment as they stared at the television. He had no idea what show was currently playing. He chugged on his beer.

“You know we’re never going to be okay, right?”

“For god’s sake, it’s been years since your parents got married. Can’t you two get your shit together? We’re almost graduating and you two still act like kids fighting for your parents like a piece of candy.”

“Our parents? Not the right piece of candy we’re fighting for.”

“Huh?”

“You know, as long as you and I are close friends, we could never get along, right?” He stretched his long legs. “Back when we were all still in high school and our parents haven’t even met each other yet, the bad blood has always been there.”

He sighed and pretended to busy himself cleaning the mess of their dinner. This was not the first conversation they had about _this_ and apparently, not the last.

“I know you know he likes you.”

“ _La la la la la…”_ he sang, his loud voice filling the apartment and consequently, blocking the other unnecessary noise coming from the mouth of his best friend. Maybe it’s time to look for another best friend, he considered. “Aren’t you going home?”

One last stretch, then Sehun got up. “Avoid it all you want, protect me from _his_ harm all you want. We both know I am not the only one who has to deal with Chanyeol’s shit.”

“Se?”

“Yep.” He stood up.

“Go fucking home.”

***

“Had a _good_ night with Byun?” Chanyeol asked, with an apparent mock in his voice. He was sitting at the dining area, a can of beer in his hand.

“Yep. So good.” Sehun said, just to annoy him. The can of beer crackled in Chanyeol’s tightened hold. “Why, ‘you jealous?”

He did not answer but his jaw tightened. Holding a bottle of water, Sehun headed towards the stairs. “Ahh, such a good night. Sweet dreams, brother.”

***

Baekhyun gently massaged his temple. The WiFi in his apartment was not working so he was forced to come out and look for a place where he could continue his thesis. The pressure of his incoming oral defense was starting to weigh down on him. Tomorrow was his deadline to submit his RRL.

Fortunately, his favorite 24-hour café was just across his apartment. He wouldn’t have to walk far with his heavy books and laptop. Plus, he knew the staff there. Entering the café, he settled by the corner table after ordering his favorite Iced Americano. It was almost midnight, so only a few people were occupying the other table. Perfect, as he needed silence to concentrate on his writing. Thirty minutes of writing and he felt a gentle sting in his eyes. Luckily the chair he was sitting on was comfortable enough to lean on.

“Lay!” He called the guy manning behind the counter. He was a schoolmate working as a part-timer at the café.

“Yes?”

“I’ll take a power nap. I’ll set my timer but If I accidentally slept through it, can you wake me up?”

“Sure! Go ahead.”

He set his phone’s timer. “Five minutes…No, ten. Who am I kidding? Alright, fifteen.” He leaned and closed his eyes. He would just rest his eyes before continuing.

How long had he been sleeping? He refused to open his eyes yet—the alarm had not gone off yet! But he was feeling a certain weight on him. Not literally. It felt like something, or someone, had been watching him. With that thought, he opened his eyes. And was greeted by an unexpected face, staring at him.

“Park.”

“Byun,” he greeted back. “Don’t you have an apartment to sleep in?”

“Don’t you have a weak student to bully?” Checking his phone he saw that there’s a minute left before his alarm would ring. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting coffee.”

“No, _here._ At my table. Why are you here?”

“Oh.” The taller guy smirked. “There’s no vacant space.”

He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. “Park. You do notice that apart from the guy over there, we are the only ones in this café right?” He was freaking mocking him. He did not need this right now.

“Hmm. But I want this corner table.”

“Well, you’d have to adjust. I came here first.”

Chanyeol shrugged. “Guess we’ll have to share then.”

“What—” He watched him settle himself comfortably on the chair in front of him.

“Go on, continue with…what you’re doing. Don’t mind me,” he said, as if his entire existence would not cause him any distraction.

He put on his earphones instead and maximized the volume. He continued reading the remaining studies he needed for his RRL chapter.

After a while, he felt Park stood up. Taking his earphones away, he asked, “I said, are you hungry?”

“No.” He directed his focus back to his laptop.

“Okay.”

Just a few more pages and he would be done. He only had afternoon classes tomorrow so he would be able to sleep long. Ah…sleep. Park came back with a plate of strawberry cheesecake, an iced Americano and a glass of water. Just…how could he concentrate when he could almost smell his favorite dessert?

Chanyeol brought out two small spoons. “Have some, if you want. This is too much for me, anyway.” He hesitated. But—strawberry cheesecake! Finally giving in, he took the other spoon and ate a spoonful. Yum.

“Thanks,” he said, his eyes focused on the screen. “It surprises me that you can _sometimes_ act nice to other people. Why do you always have to provoke your brother?”

“Can’t you not mention your best friend, for once?” He grumbled. Deciding not to annoy him any further, as he just shared his favorite dessert with him, he stayed silent.

“Are you drinking that?” he asked instead. “Can…can I have that glass of water?”

Without a word he pushed the glass forward. The hour surprisingly went by peacefully. He smiled when he realized he was almost done. He would just double-check his citations and he would be done. One last glance at the document and he finally released a smile of victory. “I’m done!”

Park, who was currently on his phone, looked up.

It’s past 2 in the morning. He silently calculated the amount of sleep he could get later. He had plenty. Nice. He then proceeded to clean his things up, closed his laptop and gathered the scattered books on the table. “Hey Park, I’m going.”

“I’ll…”

“Hey Lay, I’m going—”

“I’ll take you to your apartment. It’s already two.”

“Huh? No, I can manage—” Wordlessly, the taller stood up and took his books.

“Let’s go.”

“O…kay.” He waved goodbye to Lay who just smiled at them. “Take care, you guys!”

None of them were saying anything as they walked towards his apartment building. Surprisingly, it was not that awkward. So he was slightly surprised when Chanyeol cleared his throat.

“How’s your arm?”

“Huh?”

“Your arm…there was a bruise I saw last—” Fuck it, why couldn’t he form a coherent sentence?

“Ah…” Baekhyun finally got what this tall incoherent mess was talking about. “It’s fine. Nothing serious. I get more bruises when we were training hapkido back then.” He internally groaned. Why must he bring back the past so suddenly? “Anyway, here’s me.” He said, opening the sliding door of the building entrance. Now, so much for being not awkward throughout the night. “Thank you, Chan.” He said, slipping to what he used to call him when they were younger.

If the taller was shocked with this slip, he did not show it. His eyes, however, gazed gently towards the smaller’s face. “I—” Wait, was that a smile he was preventing to show? He forced his lips to settle into just a thin line, but the dimple showed. “Good night.”

“Hey, go home quickly okay? Just…you…take care. Good night!” Baek quickly entered the building.

Taking his phone out, he sent Baekhyun a message, or rather, a humiliating picture.

**To: B**

_I’m surprised you did not drool on the table. Good night._

**Sent 2:45 AM**

**From: B**

PARK!!!!!!!!!! >:<

**Sent 2:46 AM**

Walking back home, he savored the cold air hitting him on the face and finally, _finally_ , released _The Smile_ wide enough to cover him for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a ticking timebomb for the two stepbrothers and it seems like they are ready to explode.

To be honest, Sehun was hoping to spend this Friday night peacefully, but it seemed like Chanyeol would not let that happen. Entering their home, he saw him sitting on the sofa, busy with his phone. He ignored him and headed up the stairs.

“Hey dumbass, heard you’re failing a major,” Chanyeol suddenly shouted.

“It’s none of your business!” he shouted back, but apparently Chanyeol would not let this go.

“You’re failing, yet you have the guts to enjoy yourself for a “nice snack”?” So, there it was. He most probably saw his Instagram story of him and Baekhyun in a diner. Baekhyun was helping him with the paper requirements he needed to write before finals. He was never good at writing.

“Idiot.”

Sehun walked out of his room to confront his stepbrother who was getting upstairs. “What the hell is your problem?”

“Nothing,” he smirked.

He smirked back. “It seems to me…that someone was salty I was with Baekhyunnie this whole time?”

Apart from the tightening of his jaw, Chanyeol said nothing and turned towards his room.

“I mention him and you come crawling back to your room…coward.”

Chanyeol swiftly walked towards him and grabbed his arm rather harshly. “What did you say?”

“I said coward. You’re a coward.”

“You fucker!”

“Don’t blame me because you’re too much of a chicken to say what you really feel!”

“Shut up!”

He punched Sehun. He punched Chanyeol back with all his might. They both go down the stairs hitting each other but the two didn’t care. “Shut up! Shut up!” He shouted, not really caring about the pain in his hand. Sehun was at the same state of rage. 

“Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you two?” Their parents frantically ran down the stairs to stop them.

“Ask your goody-goody son!”

“Coward! Coward! Just say you are too afraid that Baekhyun would reject you and finally face your fear that he will never be yours!” Sehun tried to punch him again but was stopped by his father.

Chanyeol’s mother assisted him to stand up. “Is this about Baekhyunnie? Again? Oh my god you two! Your hands!”

“How can we leave you two alone if you’re always trying to kill each other?” asked Sehun’s dad, trying to keep his calm. He faced his wife. “Honey, I don’t think we should go to that trip…”

The two fell silent. Guilty of what they had just done.

“Sorry, dad,” said Sehun. “I’ll behave, promise. Don’t cancel the trip.”

“Tss…” Always the good boy Sehun.

“What are we going to do about your injuries, hmm?”

“I’ll stay at Baek’s.”

This irked Chanyeol so much but he did not say anything.

“Do you have Baekhyunnie’s number?” asked his father.

***

It’s a Friday night. Baekhyun was ready to spend the night with a calming tea he just bought online. It just arrived tonight, so he was excited to taste it. Sipping on it, he put on a blanket and turned the tv on. Suddenly, the phone rang. It’s from Sehun.

_Oh no…What is it again?_

“Se?”

He heard a familiar voice, but it was not his best friend. “Baekhyunnie?”

“Oh…” He turned the tv’s volume down. “Mr. Oh!”

“Hi, uhm. Hyunnie, are you busy for the weekend?”

“Hmm, no…I don’t have anything to do.” _But I plan to spend my time alone…_ “What is it, Mr. Oh?”

“Could you go over here for the weekend?”

“Huh?”

“You see, Sehun’s injured—”

What did this idiot do now?

“—and we’re scheduled to go on a trip for the weekend but we’re really worried for them…”

“Them?”

“Oh, Chanyeol’s injured too.”

He sighed. He could almost imagine what happened. He was not surprised by this. Those two were like ticking time bombs ready to explode. 

“But if it’s too much of a hassle, it’s alright! Don’t worry about it. Guess we’ll just have to cancel the trip.”

Baekhyun felt guilty, and mad at those two idiots. So much headache, those two.

“Alright, I’m coming tomorrow morning.”

“Really? Thank you Baekhyunnie, you’re really our angel.”

“Bye, Mr. Oh.” He looked at the tea. Guess he needed to take as much calming tea as he could to get through the weekend.

Sehun’s father handed him the phone back. “Baekhyunnie will come tomorrow. You two, behave,” he said before going back to follow his wife to their room.

“Honey, do you really think it’s a good idea to send Baekhyunnie here? What if Chanyeol—”

“Don’t worry, honey. If there’s anyone who could make those two behave, it’s Baekhyun."

Baekhyun arrived at the Park-Oh household early next morning. He was received by Mr. and Mrs. Oh, who were currently getting ready to leave. Sehun was at the couch waiting for him while he noticed Chanyeol heading directly to the kitchen.

“Are you sure it’s not gonna be a hassle for you, Baekhyunnie?”

He sweetly smiled at them. “No, it’s fine Mr. Oh!”

“Oh, you’re an angel for doing this.” Mrs. Oh said. They called for Chanyeol and Sehun and hugged the two. “We’re going guys. Behave, you two.”

The idiots did not answer. Chanyeol rolled his eyes. When the door closed, he gathered his breath, tiptoed and reached for Sehun’s right ear…and Chanyeol’s left ear.

“Ow! Ow! Baek!” Sehun shouted.

Chanyeol’s face contorted in pain.

Because he’s shorter than them, they had to crouch down as he was tightly pinching their ears.

“YOU IDIOTS! What the hell are you doing killing each other in front of your parents? Have you no shame—”

“I’m sorry, Baek. Ouch!”

A coughing stopped them. And by the door, they noticed the old couple whose eyes were widened with surprise. Mrs. Oh released a surprised laugh but covered it smoothly with more coughing. “Uhm, we just…forgot our keys.” They grabbed what they were looking for quickly. “You…continue…with that. Goodbye guys! Good luck!”

Loosening his hold on the two, he laughed, “God, that was embarrassing! For you two! Ha ha ha idiots!”

Mr. Oh was not a stranger to this, though. He had done this so many times with Sehun. But, Mrs. Oh was probably surprised to have witnessed this…scene.

"You're mean!" Sehun went back to the couch and faced his phone.

Chanyeol was just...holding his pained ear. "Angel? Psh...scam." He walked away, as if nothing happened, as if his face was not as red as the ear Baekhyun just pinched. He went back to kitchen where he was _trying_ to prepare his breakfast.

At the car, the couple was laughing. “I told you, hon!”

“That was epic. Did you see Chanyeollie’s face?”

With his free hand that was not holding the steering wheel he held his wife’s, “They’re going to be fine, don’t worry.”

Mrs. Oh gently smiled, relief was evident on her face. “I can see that. I can perfectly see that now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Baek is gonna stay for the weekend. Let's get ready for some...tension and of course, FLUFF.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scratch Baek's plans of enjoying the weekend alone. He has two babies to take care of instead.

"Have you had your breakfast?" Baekhyun shouted over the kitchen while scanning the cupboard. 

"I'm injured," replied Sehun. "Can you cook an omelette for me, please, Baekhyunnie..." 

Upon hearing this conversation, Chanyeol rolled his eyes. 

"Okay. No onions?"

"Yup!"

_God, why treat this asshole like a baby?_

"Hey, Park." Baekhyun peeped by the kitchen doorway. "What do you prefer?"

"Huh?"

"For the omelette..."

"Oh, uhm." Was he really going to cook for him too? "Anything's fine. I don't care."

"Okay." Baek replied and went back to the kitchen. 

"Hey, Red-Ears." Sehun smirked. 

"Shut up asshole."

"OH MY GOD SEHUN! Stop being a baby!" 

Minutes after the breakfast was prepared, Baek gathered them by the table. The problem was, Sehun was struggling to eat using his left hand. 

"I can't hold my spoon properly. Feed me. Ahhh..."

Baek sighed. Giving in, he lifted a spoonful of omelette to feed the _babie._

Chanyeol roughly put his utensils down, using his unbandaged left hand. He took his plate and stood up instead. "I will eat at my room."

Sehun smiled naughtily while looking at Baek, whose confused gaze followed the leaving man. 

"Oops. Someone's got a bad morning." 

Baekhyun ignored him. "Feed yourself."  
  


"B-but..."

"Learn it." 

The day went by peacefully, to Baekhyun's relief. He stayed at the couch watching the TV while Sehun and Chanyeol barely left their room. He just saw Chanyeol when he called them for lunch. Sehun, on the other hand, was too busy playing or sleeping at his room. He brought out his laptop and decided to do some part time work editing online articles instead. He smiled to himself when he realized he reached the quota of articles to edit for the week and he did not have to cram next week's workload. It was 7 pm when he finished, and decided to cook something easy.

_M_ _aybe a tuna pasta would do._

"Oh wow, what's that?" A noticeably just-woke-up Sehun asked. 

"Tuna pasta. Let's eat. Call your brother."

"Nope. Don't want to." The brat settled on his seat and started feasting on the food he prepared at the table. He sighed. "Fine."

He went upstairs and knocked at Chanyeol's door. "Hey, Park. Dinner's ready."

Some silence, and then, "I will eat later, Byun."

"Alright." It's not him to force anyone to eat if they did not want to. 

Baek must have dozed off on the couch but he woke up hearing something clanging on the kitchen. He looked at the clock. It's eleven. He decided to check on the source of the noise. 

It was Chanyeol. He noticed he _tried_ to microwave it and was currently struggling on how to safely get the pasta's container out. 

"Hey..." Putting on the nearby pot-holder, he safely put the food on the table. "Here."

"Thanks."

"Are you just eating your dinner now?"

"Wasn't hungry earlier..." He lifted the fork using his left hand but the stupid food just would not...cooperate. "Damn it."

Feeling frustrated watching him, he scooped a forkful of pasta and lifted it to Chanyeol's mouth. The taller was shocked. "What-"

"Say aaah..."

Chanyeol obeyed and let him...feed him. 

"Does that hurt?" he asked while the now red-eared tall guy chewed his food. 

"No. Sehun's was much worse."

He rolled his eyes. "Sehun said that same thing about you." 

"Sehun got hurt way worse!"

"Are you really bragging about hurting others worse?!"

Chanyeol got quiet. "Sorry..."

"Was not the one whom you got hurt." He lifted another forkful of pasta. "Aah..."

The taller accepted it, almost naturally. "He's a dick."

"I'm sure you two are. What were you even fighting about?"

_You._ "Nothing."

He decided to let the matter rest. One plateful of pasta after, he was busy cleaning the table. "Go to your room, I'll just wash this up."

"Not my parents..."

"Seriously, Park?" He went to the sink and washed the dishes instead, before he could throw it to the brat's irritating head. 

He busied himself washing dishes, and let the sound of the flow of water calm him down.

But...not long after that he felt something warm cover him. Two arms snaked their way on his waist and a head gently rested on his shoulder. "Uh...Park?"

"Thank you, Baek."

He stiffened at the sound of his voice-rather, hearing again the way he used to call him. "Hey-"

"Just...please. Let me? Just for tonight." 

_I missed you._

Chanyeol could not let this be voiced out. Hugging him was more than enough, though. _Admit it._ If Baekhyun's not going to be his, then this moment, right here, should have to do. 

Baekhyun let him. The tap was left continuously flowing, as he felt his back settle deeper on Chanyeol's broad chest, and his arms tightened his hold around him.

He decided to face him. The taller let him loosen his grip for a second, but went back to gripping him tight, as if he would crumble without Baek's support. "Are you okay?"

"Yes..." _More than okay._ "Where will you be sleeping?"

"Hey!" He patted the arm on his side waist. What goes on in this punk's mind? 

"What?" He chuckled, the warmth of his breath reaching Baekhyun's neck yet he tried to ignore it. "I'm just asking..."

"Your parents asked me to stay at their room. What are you thinking about?!"

"WHAT? Nothing! What are _you_ thinking?"

"Park, I know you _too much_ to know what _you_ are implying!" He said before he realized what he just uttered. He felt the arms tightened and the tip of Chanyeol's nose gently touched his neck. Was he sniffing him? 

"Alright."

He finally decided to loosen his hold on him. He immediately closed the running tap. 

"Go to sleep, Park." 

"Alright, alright." Continuing the interrupted chore, Baek faced the sink and ignored the fast-paced, marathon-like beating of his heart, which doubled when...he felt soft lips peck on his cheek and a soft muttering, "Thank you, the food was delicious. Good night, Baek." 

Then the culprit was gone. 

"Park Chanyeol!" 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	4. Chapter 4

"Sehun, come here."

Baek focused his eyes on the article he's reading on his laptop while waiting for Sehun to sit in front of him. He was sitting on the carpeted floor with his laptop on the mini table.

"How's your wrist?"

"Okay, I guess," he responded, slightly curious of what his friend was planning to do. Even Chanyeol, who was sitting on the couch while silently watching the TV, was now curious.

"Are you sure?" He motioned for him to across him. "Put your arm on this table, and point your hand upwards."

"What's this?" he asked while doing what he told him to do. 

"I read it on the internet. It's exercise for your injured wrist. Are you sure it does not hurt anymore?"

"Yes, Mom. I'm sure," the brat replied, to which Baekhyun gave him a slight knock on his forehead.

"Now make a fist five times..."

Sehun followed whatever Baek was telling him to. "Okay? Told you it's fine."

"Sure. Do that exercise everyday."

Sehun stood up and was about to head to his own room when he noticed something and smirked. Chanyeol had this expectant look on his face while subtly looking at his injured hand, his gaze sliding to Baekhyun. He was about to provoke him when-

"You wanna try the exercise, too?" Baek apparently had noticed the expectant gaze of the other. Chanyeol nodded. "Okay, come here. Put your hand on the table like what Sehun did." Chanyeol immediately went BESIDE Baekhyun and followed his instructions. Tsk. He could have sat across him like what he did. Sehun decided to postpone the opportunity of calling his stepbrother names and left the two alone. 

Baekhyun inspected the plastered wrist. "Does it hurt?"

"No." Chanyeol answered. "It itches, though."

"Okay." Holding Chanyeol's injured hand, he made his fingers point upwards. 

"You have small hands," Chanyeol commented. A tactless remark to cover up the creeping heat on his face. He imagined knocking himself on the back of his head. 

"You just have monstrous hands, shut up." Baek put a slight pressure on his wrist and he winced. "It hurts?"

"When you squeeze it like that, yes." 

"Sorry. Okay. Now bend all your fingers and make a fist. Five times." Chanyeol obeyed. "Good. Now Bend the joints of your fingers while keeping your knuckle joints straight. That's it, now, form a ‘hook’ position like this..." Baek held his fingers to form a "claw". He then straightened his fingers. They repeated the exercise five times. 

"Thank you," Chanyeol muttered when they were done. He did not move, though. Baekhyun expected him to stand up after the exercise but it seemed like he found it comfortable enough to sit on the carpet instead of the couch. He let him watch the TV again in silence while he continued the work he was doing before their exercise. "What are you doing?" Chanyeol asked, peering on the laptop, while moving closer that their arms were in whispered touch. Thank god he was wearing a sweatshirt. 

He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the feeling of sudden awareness of his surrounding aka this man sitting beside him. "Just some part-time work."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Just...you could have used the time for yourself but here we are..."

"It's fine." He smiled, assuring him. "Your wifi's so fast. Mine sucks."

Chanyeol laughed at that. The Dimples finally showing. "Aren't you tired?"

"What, like right now? Or in general?"

Chanyeol laughed even more. Wow, his dark humor seemed to be working on this guy, he thought.

"I meant, we have school. You're working on your thesis and your rest days are spent working."

"Hmm. It was hard, but eventually I just got used to it."

"I'm proud of you," Chanyeol uttered, shocking Baek. "Your parents must be so proud of you," he continued, diverting the attention. 

He smiled at the thought. "I really hope they are. I hope they're happy wherever they are now."

"I think they are. They raised a very responsible kid."

"Thank you, Chan," he said, giving him the most sincere smile. 

Wow, that was the longest, most decent conversation they had in a long time.

The talk must have drained the both of them, though, because when Sehun went out of his room, he witnessed the two sitting beside each other, asleep with their heads supporting each other. He captured that moment with his phone, thinking of ways on how he could torture the two with this picture. "For future purposes," he whispered to himself. 

***

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, 
> 
> Nothing's set on stone yet but I'm planning to keep this short and fluffy and...less angsty. The world is already as harsh as it is.  
> Prompts for my fics can be found on my twitter but I am still hesitant to open that account to the savagery out there. Someday, maybe?
> 
> Updates soon!


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